Love, Tragedy, and Zombies
by Kaitlynn Gold
Summary: In a world overrun by zombies, Mike Greenberg lives a reclusive lifestyle in his group of survivors. Saddened by losing his wife, will new additions to his group change everything? Rated T for violence.
1. Chapter 1

Mike held Zoey's hand as they walked through the dark forest. Her cousin, Scott, followed not far behind.

"Mike, I'm scared," Zoey said.

"Don't be. Look, all you need to worry about is keeping the baby safe," Mike said, touching her bulging stomach.

"What about you? A baby needs its father."

"I'm an adult. I can take care of myself."

"Mike, I don't want to lose you the way I lost most of my family. You and Scott are all I have left. Please tell me we're going to be safe!"

Before he could answer, a group of walkers came toward them. Their little group was overwhelmed, and Scott ran one way, Zoey ran another, and Mike ran still another direction.

It was the decision he would regret for the rest of his life.

A month passed. Mike found no traces of his cousin-in-law or wife anywhere. He soon met up with four other survivors, and though they teamed up, he refused to interact with the others any more than necessary.

After a month of this, Dakota, one of the survivors, got sick of his constant gazing at the forest.

"Mike, tell us what you're looking for," she snapped.

"My wife." His answer shocked them.

"You're married?" Gwen asked.

"I was going to be a father, too. Two months ago, we were walking, looking for a safe place to stay so she could have the baby. Me, her, and her cousin, Scott. Suddenly, we were overrun by walkers. Each of us ran in another direction. I wasn't like this then. I had something to fight for. A family. Now that family's gone, and the next time I see a walker, I'll just let it take me. I don't care."

"You do have a family. We're your family!" Gwen said. "And your wife would want you to keep going."

Little did they know what lied ahead.


	2. Chapter 2

Dawn perched herself in a tree. The perfect place to keep an eye out for walkers. Ever since she'd lost DJ, she'd become cold and uncaring. Almost a walker. But she kept fighting for him. She felt the branch under her crack. Everything went black.

"You okay?" a woman's voice said later.

"Do you think she's dead?" asked a man. Dawn's eyes fluttered open. In front of her were a Goth-looking woman and a small man.

"Yes, I'm fine," she said.

"What's your name?" asked the woman.

"I'm Dawn."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Gwen."

"I'm Cameron."

"So, uh, you need a place to stay?"

"Gwen, can I talk to you? Alone?" They went into a bush. "I don't think we should let her join us."

"What? She's a survivor."

"You know how Mike is! He barely let us join him."

"He won't even know she's there. All he does is sit watching the forest. He misses… her."

"He lost his wife! Not only that, but she was pregnant." Gwen fixed him with a pleading look. "Okay, but remember it was your idea." They led Dawn to a treehouse. Gwen tapped the trunk three times and a ladder came down. Once the three were up there, Dawn realized that they had the right idea.

"Looks like Dakota and Sam went for more supplies." Gwen put down a bundle of firewood.

"Gwen, Cameron, who's this?" asked a tall man with spiky hair. His clothes were tattered and his expression was cold and uncaring, like Dawn's.

"This is Dawn. We found her unconscious in the forest. It was my idea to bring her back."

"She can stay. I'm going on a supply run. Cam, you stay here with Dawn while Gwen and I go for supplies."

An hour later, Dawn was watching the forest while Cam fiddled with a radio. The ladder unfurled, and a curly-haired man came up with a blonde woman. They were carrying a red-haired girl between them.

"Sam, get her inside!" the woman said. She spotted Dawn. "Name's Dakota. That's Sam." The redhead let out a cry of pain.

"Did I hurt you?" Sam asked.

"No, the baby's coming!" the ginger spat.

"Baby?!" Cam asked in shock.

"I can help deliver the baby," Dawn spoke up.

"Good. Sam, you and Cam keep an eye out for trouble. Dawn and I will help deliver this baby."

An hour after that, the ginger-haired woman—who said her name was Zoey—was still in labor. Mike and Gwen came back just as she let out a particularly loud cry of pain.

"What was that?" Mike asked.

"We found a pregnant woman in the woods," Sam explained. "She went into labor as soon as we brought her here. Cam, what was her name?"

"It was Zoey, I think." Mike twitched. "Mike, what's wrong?"

"My wife's name was Zoey. Most amazing girl I ever met. I regret running in the opposite direction, but I thought she was right behind me. Just a coincidence that this survivor has the same name."

"Mike, I highly doubt this is a coincidence. She could be her. In fact, I'm sure it's the same Zoey." Mike headed for the door of the shelter, but Dakota wouldn't let him in. A baby's cry filled the air.

"There's one more!" Dawn said.

Soon, the second baby was born. It was a boy, and the first was a girl. Dakota finally let Mike in.

Dawn was holding the twins when he walked in.

"Shh…" she said. "Their mother is asleep." Mike walked to the infirmary. He felt his heart stop. There, in one of the beds, fast asleep, was the most beautiful person in the world. He sat in the chair by the bed, thinking about it all.

When she woke up, the mother saw Mike beside her.

"Mike!" she said, crying.

"I thought I lost you!" the couple said to each other at the same time.

"You know each other?" Dawn asked, handing the twins to Zoey.

"She's my wife. I can't believe it. I thought they got you and the baby."

"I hid in a cave. They never knew I was there."

"Where's Scott?"

"I don't know. I lost track of him." A call came from the deck.

"Gotta go." He kissed her for the first time in months.

A red-haired man was on the deck, tied up.

"Found him getting at our food supply," Gwen said. "He claimed—"

"Mike, tell these people who I am!" said the man. Mike realized it was Scott.

"Let him go, guys."

"Thank you! Now where's Zoey? I thought she was with you."

"Well, I thought she was with you, and—"

"No, she's a walker, isn't she? I've lost my cousin and second cousins!"

"No, Scott, she's fine. She's inside, in fact." Mike led the farm boy to the infirmary.

"Scott!" said Zoey from her bed.

"Twins?!" Scott said. Dawn came in. "Well, hello." Scott leaned up against… nothing. He fell, making her laugh.

"Here. I thought you might need some herbs to keep your strength up."

"Thanks." Zoey swallowed them, gagging as they hit the back of her throat.

"Zoey, I'm so happy you're safe." Mike held her hand. "Now we can be a family again."

"Me too." The new mom let out a huge yawn.

"Oops. Drowsiness is one of the side effects of the herbs. It'll wear off. In the meantime, she needs to be as safe and comfortable as possible. These two are our chance at the planet starting over."

"What are their names?" Mike asked.

"Aurora and Joshua."

"Really?" Scott asked. Dawn elbowed him.

In the months that followed, six more survivors—Jasmine, Shawn, Samey, Noah, Cody, and Sierra—met up with the treehouse gang. Dawn and Scott were married. They seemed to be the only people left alive in the world. How wrong they were.


End file.
